I just wanted to see it on vinyl for selfish reasons, I suppose. I grew up on vinyl records, had all the Dead Milkmen albums on vinyl (those available on vinyl, that is - the last one being "Metaphysical Graffiti"....wow, 21 years ago!), love to watch the black disc spin around and listen to the wow, flutter, and hiss of records (as "destructible" as it may be). That being said, I suppose it isn't really practical to press thousands of vinyl when only a fraction of folks will actually purchase it on said format.

I know you love vinyl, Lettuce. And I do too. But, we're self-releasing this album and in this day and age mp3 is "king" (making the CD prince). I don't necessarily care for that idea, but that seems to be the way it is and sometimes you just have to embrace reality. However, I don't think vinyl will ever completely go away. I just don't want to see hundreds of vinyl copies of "The King in Yellow" collecting dust in our basements.

Should we do a poll to see how many people would purchase a vinyl copy? I don't know how to make a poll, so someone else please do it.

Rodney wrote:So let me get this straight, people are upset because we’re willing to charge them ten bucks to buy our music on a virtually indestructible format which is not only portable, but can be easily shared with others, and we’re not willing to charge them twenty bucks to buy our music on an antiquated, environmentally un-friendly, easily damaged, non-portable medium, that’s only currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity because either A) Someone was spanking it to an episode of Madmen when their attention was drawn to the shiny round object (I precinct the next trend will be nostalgia for the days when white people got the entire front of the bus to themselves) or B) since mp3’s have allowed anybody to have an eclectic music collection, they no longer feel like special little snowflakes because anybody can have access to their precious b-sides.

Rodney, the vinyl record is a format that has never died in punk. The people here asking for vinyl are not some sort of evil hipsters, but instead are the people who have been used to buying most music in this format for years. Just look at the Town Managers and Low Budgets collections that some of us have.

Also, an example: I own the Low Budgets first LP on vinyl. It still plays very well. I have some friends who own the CD version, which was pressed on a rather cheap CDR. They no longer play.

Rodney wrote:If you don’t fall into either of the two aforementioned categories , then I’m sure you can understand that I don’t want to passively enable the idiots who do by jumping onto a tend that’ll disappear once Justin Beiber gives an interview about how his music can only be appreciated on vinyl.

I understand your distaste for the current "vinyl in popular culture" issue, that's what the Dead Milkmen have always been about, going against what's trendy. Yes, I purchased the mp3's, and I will purchase the CD (and hope that the top layer doesn't get fucked up and render it useless). I am happy that you guys released this album, and it's fucking amazing. I just see many people asking about a vinyl release, and I just wish that you weren't so against it.

Rodney wrote:Rather than disparage us for not taking your money for something that brings you no value, why not give us a modicum of credit for standing up to a ridiculous, wasteful trend?

I give you credit for standing up to a trend, but at the same time, I feel as if you're labelling a lot of people as something that they aren't, as punks who never stopped buying records are not the same as kids who only listen to records because Jack White tells them to.

dandrew wrote:I know you love vinyl, Lettuce. And I do too. But, we're self-releasing this album and in this day and age mp3 is "king" (making the CD prince). I don't necessarily care for that idea, but that seems to be the way it is and sometimes you just have to embrace reality. However, I don't think vinyl will ever completely go away. I just don't want to see hundreds of vinyl copies of "The King in Yellow" collecting dust in our basements.

What if there were labels who wanted to release the vinyl for you, handle the costs of pressing it, etc? Generally, a case like this would usually keep you guys from having to worry about having boxes of LPs gathering dust in your basements or attics.

dandrew wrote:Should we do a poll to see how many people would purchase a vinyl copy? I don't know how to make a poll, so someone else please do it.

That's a very good idea, I might just do that later this evening.

The unofficial archivist. Keep digitizing those old recordings everybody!

Current Projects: A stack of tapes from Timothy, will be hopefully getting those finished soon! Lotsa upgrades to things that have been circulating for a while.

So I've listened to the record a few times now and can't resist putting a few initial reactions out there.

First, the record sounds fabulous. The path that has taken you from Big Lizard to here is an amazing one. I think I used the term chamber punk in another thread, and that is what a lot of this sounds like. There is a new song writing confidence and sophistication here.

I am initially drawn to King in Yellow/William Bloat, Caitlin Childs, Meaningless Upbeat Happy Song, Cold Hard Ground, Some Young Guy and Solvents.

Meaningless Upbeat Happy Song, Some Young Guy and Solvents are just hilarious and classic Dead Milkmen. Never stop writing this stuff.

Caitlin Childs is a righteous howl. What a terrific tribute to a young dissenter caught in an insane world. It's also fun to listen to it as a send up of a Dylan-style read the news, write a song type of tune.

King in Yellow/William Bloat and Cold Hard Ground are so beautiful. What rich and complex textures. This is what I mean by chamber punk. Have you mined old traditional songs before? These songs are gorgeous in their own right, but I also like listening to William Bloat as a send up of songs like the Decemberist's "the Rake" and their literary pretentions.

Yeah, yeah: fucking awesome. And I know I've only scratched the surface. When will the liner notes be posted?

Vinyl is fine and all, but to be up with the times how about a 24bit Lossless or something? I would pay another $10 for a FLAC for sure.
If you had something like that you could run out and put it on wax yourself. Trade your meth lab in for a vinyl press.

I just looked it up and for $1100 you can get 100 180 gram 3 step plated vinyl records pressed and shipped.
That is $11 each.
I am guessing that you record loving creeps would be willing to pay handsomely for your precious plastic, so why don't you guys get together and 20 of you can have your own shiny record to sit on your shelf and collect dust. Maybe you could donate the rest of the records to the band to sell or recycle or give away to a retard charity or something.
I have paid $75 for a CD once (that I can now steal for free).
I might pay $50 for a record that I will never listen to if the band would sign it and Rodney would personally write his opinion on the evils of records on the liner.
Also, if you want to see what happens to people who listen to records please see "The Mechanic" with Jason Stratham.
I'll give you a hint: Yer gonna die.

psh wrote:King in Yellow/William Bloat and Cold Hard Ground are so beautiful. What rich and complex textures. This is what I mean by chamber punk. Have you mined old traditional songs before? These songs are gorgeous in their own right, but I also like listening to William Bloat as a send up of songs like the Decemberist's "the Rake" and their literary pretentions.

If you loved William Bloat, and you haven't listened to Rodney's band Burn Witch Burn, you really should check them out. Most of their stuff is out of print now I think, but easy enough to find via filesharing networks.

That just leaves the self-titled CD that was released on Razler records. It's out of print, but if you search through used cd stores and ebay auctions, you might be able to score yourself a copy. I'd make a copy of mine, but sadly it's scratched beyond being playable. If I remember correctly, everything on the first cassette and the Burning Times were on the self-titled, but the self-titled was a bit more polished. It's worth owning if you can get a copy.

The unofficial archivist. Keep digitizing those old recordings everybody!

Current Projects: A stack of tapes from Timothy, will be hopefully getting those finished soon! Lotsa upgrades to things that have been circulating for a while.

I'm afraid I'm not one of the hipsters who listens to vinyl because it's trendy. Truthfully, I don't even have a record player, but I still collect (as I said in a different post) records that have had a meaningful impact on me. My wall is decorated with the albums that helped me develop in my adolescence, oftentimes autographed, sometimes not. Do I collect them to listen to? No, they're all unplayed. Do I collect them because I believe they'll grow in value? No, I wouldn't part with them for the world. I collect them because they symbolize the great deal of love and admiration the band or the album has had on me. I collect them for no greater purpose than personal value. Just as people adorn their bodies with tattoos of meaningful and memorable symbols, I decorate my walls with vinyls symbolic of the journey I've taken to become who I am.

Admittedly, The King in Yellow is not an album that has thus far influenced my life. But The Dead Milkmen are a band that has been influencing me since I was 13, despite having broken up when I was less than half that age. I don't own any of the albums on vinyl because I only want the one that best symbolizes the Milkmen's impact on me. Unfortunately, the album that has had the greatest impact on me was the one I that I discovered first, which I undoubtedly found first because it was the most popular. Big Lizard is hard to find on vinyl these days, and rarely at a price I can afford. I never wanted to settle for any of the other albums, regardless of how much I love them, simply because they do not represent the songs that turned me onto the Milkmen and led me to become a greater fan. But this new album represents an opportunity for me to have something that satisfies my urge to commemorate without making me feel as if I've settled for anything less than the ideal. The very fact that this album exists fills me with such joy and happiness--that my favorite band in the world, dead before I was old enough to even know what a bass was, has managed to reunite and record brand new material, is nothing short of miraculous to me. Perhaps silly and perhaps unfounded, but this album, for whatever reason, fills me with hope....

I'm going to end it abruptly there before I become too cheesy.

I understand your resistance to satisfy a trend Rodney, and I'll respect the bands' decision, but let it be known that I'd pay good money for a King in Yellow vinyl. If it was a smaller pressing, small enough to keep it out of hipster hands but satisfy the FFA, that'd only make it all the more special.

I am currently listening to Metaphysical Graffiti on vinyl at this exact moment, and it makes me all warm and fuzzy.

You don't need to make thousands and thousands of copies, you can make a limited run of 500 or 1,000 and they will sell. There are sites like interpunk, and shop radio cast who can help distribute/sell LPs to people who still want them. Vinyl listeners WILL pay $15-$20 for a vinyl LP if thats the cost, but they can be sold for less too. You do not need to pay $11 per record to get an LP made...in fact sites like www.urpressing.com often offers specials that include all packaging and shipping costs. Usually less than $5 per LP shipped/complete. In fact if you order by April 8th, there is a 500 LP set for $1775 through URpressing which includes shipping and all costs, thats $3.55 per LP. and you can get it on randomly mixed vinyl for no extra cost, to appease all the TRENDY kids like me.

If that is too much money you can use sites like Kickstarter to fund the vinyl release of the project. Basically pre-sell the item till you get enough sales to break even, then everything from there is profit. You can even offer donation levels to include test pressings and some crazy record collectors will probably buy them.

Also there are many record labels that focus on releasing exclusively or mostly vinyl for independent bands that can't do it themselves. No Idea Records (will also distribute amazingly well if you press it yourself), Asbestos Records, Paper and plastic (records), Mightier Than Swords.

A post about the release on message board: vinyl collective message board (google it) will definitely sell you a GOOD number. Some smaller labels have sold literally hundreds of copies for bands similar to DM popularity by posting on that site.